The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

New business development is a cornerstone of sales success. Whether you’ve heard it described as a 5-step, 6-step, or even a 9-step process, the number of steps doesn’t matter as much as the quality of execution.

Let's break down the most critical steps to kickstart your new business journey: identifying great leads and securing that first meeting. If you can't master these, the rest of the process is moot.

While marketing strategies and sales tactics are crucial, the power of building strong relationships should never be underestimated. Genuine connections forged through authentic interactions and a deep understanding of your client's needs can pave the way for sustainable business growth.

By focusing on creating valuable and meaningful bonds, you can establish a loyal customer base, foster trust, and ultimately drive long-term success for your business. Discover how to leverage the power of genuine connections to stand out in a crowded market and unlock new opportunities for growth.

We're tackling a crucial aspect of sales that's as important as your morning coffee: sealing more deals.

To close more opportunities, it's critical that we limit or completely remove as many objections during the presentation as possible. One way to do that is to remove the surprises. Surprises are great for a birthday party, but they can be devastating during a business meeting.

Securing new business appointments is crucial for success in sales.

These days, it's quite challenging to get new business appointments. This difficulty is a key reason why many salespeople struggle and why sales organizations often miss their goals.

Research in sales indicates it typically takes eight attempts to reach a prospect. However, 92% of salespeople give up after just four tries. This explains why many are struggling to secure more appointments.

To excel in sales, it's essential to blend persistence with a clear purpose to secure new appointments. Here are three effective strategies.

Business development (BD) is the process of identifying, qualifying, and developing potential new customers.

It is a critical part of any sales team's strategy, as it helps to ensure that there is a steady pipeline of leads to nurture and convert into paying customers.

There are a number of different business development tactics that sales teams can use, depending on their industry, target market, and sales process. Here are some of the most common and effective tactics.

If three birds are sitting on a wire, and two decide to fly away, how many are left?

If you haven’t heard this riddle, you might answer “one. “ But the answer is that three birds are left on the wire. The two birds only decided to fly away, and deciding is not the same as actually doing.

Moving from deciding to doing is a common challenge in new business development. How many times in our sales career have we decided to do something but stayed sitting on that wire?

We’ve established short and long-term goals. We’ve even mapped out an action plan and a roadmap to follow that will lead to success. But we remain sitting on a wire. Our behaviors don’t change, and we don’t follow through with the plan.

Getting that first appointment with a new business prospect is rarely an easy task.

In fact, there is usually a direct correlation between how long it takes to get an appointment and the spending potential of a prospect. Simply put, quality prospects take more time! 

Because so many hours are spent persuading a prospect to meet, it makes sense to get the most out of the meeting. World-class salespeople use the first appointment to uncover business challenges that lead to cash, instead of wasting the opportunity pitching, pitching, pitching. 

After getting comfortable and socializing a bit with the prospect during the opening minutes of the call, try the following steps to get the most out of the opportunity:

A person needs many skills and qualities to be successful at business, including good organization, communication, leadership, and negation.

Business acumen is another necessary skill for those who are driven to succeed. But what is it? And how can you develop it?

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about business acumen.

Regardless of the industry you work in; every company ultimately has the same goal: to increase revenue and grow business.

To set your organization up for long-term success, you need more than just a goal. You need a strategic plan, and that’s where target drives come in.

In this episode of Improving Sales Performance, Alina McComas, VP / Senior Consultant at The Center for Sales Strategy, shares her insight on implementing target drives that help improve revenue performance. Keep reading for a brief overview or tune in now.

At the beginning of a new year, it's tempting to set goals for the next 12 months. After all, you'll have your results from the prior year and can identify where you fell short and where you want your company to improve. 

However, try to resist the urge to create annual goals that are too detailed and contain too many action items. If you fall behind, it's hard to catch up. You can quickly lose momentum and focus on what you're trying to achieve.

Instead, quarterly goals make more sense when you're looking for action-driven results. At the end of each quarter, you can then set the appropriate goals for the next quarter. These can fit into some more general goals for the year but should also be aligned with the long-term strategy. 

Let's take a look at the steps to create a quarterly action plan, how to measure success, and how to plan for the following quarter.